Columbus Bar News Bytes :: November 12, 2009

Real Life Practice:
You CAN Make it Rain, Part 1

~by Nora Riva Bergman, Practice Advisor, Atticus, Inc.

Let's face it; the weather has been pretty dry lately for a lot of attorneys. No matter where you live or what your practice area, you've likely felt the heat from the economic drought. But here's the good news, you can begin to create your own weather by putting four simple strategies to work for you.

1. Become a natural marketer.
2. Understand that marketing is a process to be mastered
day-by-day.
3. Do what you love.
4. Find time to market, even if you're busy.

This month we're going to focus on the first two strategies. In next month's newsletter, we'll focus on steps three and four.

1. Become a natural marketer.

Attorneys tell me all the time, "Nora, I'm no good at marketing. I'm just not a natural marketer. I don't like talking about myself." I tell them, "Phooey! You can learn to be a natural marketer." Before we go any further, let's define marketing. According to the American Marketing Association, "Marketing is the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large." Whew. That's a mouthful. Here's a simpler way to say it: Marketing is about knowing what you do, knowing who your ideal clients are, and building relationships that get those clients knocking on your door.

So you're thinking, "Of course, I know what I do. I'm a lawyer. And a fine one, at that." OK, but being a lawyer is part of who you are, not what you "do." As a lawyer, you guide people through some of the most difficult and challenging times of their lives. Maybe you help them survive the break-up of a marriage or a business. Maybe you help them find a way to survive after an injury leaves them unable to work or they've been illegally fired from a job. Knowing what you "do," and how you help people is critical to marketing your services. It might be difficult for you to talk about yourself, but you should be able to speak with passion about what you do for your clients.

Next you need to know who your ideal clients are. When you know who your ideal clients are, then you can begin to develop relationships with those people that surround your ideal clients. Let's say, you're a family law attorney, and your ideal clients are professional people with a high net worth. Who are those types of people surrounded by? How about starting with financial planners, investment bankers, and business law attorneys? Once you know who your ideal clients are and the types of people they are surrounded by, then you can get to work building relationships with the right people.

Finally, you need to build real relationships that create great referrals for you. The focus here is on "real relationships," not relationships just for the purpose of getting referrals, but relationships out of which great referrals grow. In my example above, I mentioned business law attorneys as great referral source for a family law attorney. There are a lot of business law attorneys out there. But you're not going to build relationships with all of them. You're going to meet as many business law attorneys as you can, and then, you're going to build relationships with the one, or two or three that you really hit it off with. You're going to build real relationships with people you like, and you're going to get to know them and trust them. And they're going to get to know, like and trust you. You're going to become a great referral source for them, and they for you. It's a beautiful thing!

2. Understand that marketing is a process to be mastered
day-by-day.

You don't get up in the morning, brush your teeth and say, "Whew, that's done! Don't have to worry about that for another month." Think of marketing like brushing your teeth. You don't brush your teeth once a month or once a week. You brush your teeth every day, twice a day, maybe three times a day. Just like brushing your teeth, you've got to focus on your marketing every day. You can't go to an event and say, "OK, I've done my marketing for the month." Nope. You've got to do a little bit every day. Make a phone call each day to a referral source. Send an email. Write a note. Go to lunch. Have a beer. Play a game of golf. Go shopping.

Here's the other thing about brushing your teeth and marketing. You don't have to think about brushing your teeth. It's a habit. A good habit. I want you to make marketing a habit, something you do without thinking about it.

When you make marketing a habit, you'll begin to see marketing opportunities everywhere. One of my clients told me recently that she'd been approached by a partner from a large business law firm. She's a sole practitioner with a successful entertainment law practice. She's worked in big firms before and has no desire to go back. She told me that a year ago she would have said, "No, thank you," and that would have been that. But now, she says, "I told him that I appreciated the offer, but wanted to keep my own firm. Then I told him I'd love to have lunch with him and find out how we could each help each other. I never used to think that way." By the way, that big-firm attorney has already sent her a great referral.

So now you know the first two steps to becoming a natural marketer. Next month we'll focus on doing what you love and finding time to market, even when you're busy. Now, go call one of your best referral sources and head out to her favorite restaurant. And . . . bring an umbrella.

As a business coach and practice advisor with Atticus, Nora is dedicated to helping attorneys create the lives and law practices they dreamed of when they were in law school. She knows the frustrations that attorneys experience every day and is committed to helping them change their lives for the better. Nora has practiced as an employment law attorney and certified mediator and has served as a professor at both Stetson University College of Law and the University of South Florida, teaching courses in alternative dispute resolution and negotiation. In addition, Nora has been a speaker at conferences for The Florida Bar, the American Bar Association, and other national bar associations. She has also served as the Executive Director of the St. Petersburg Bar Association.

Nora is a graduate of the Leadership Development Program at Eckerd College, and is certified in the Conflict Dynamics Profile® developed by Eckerd to help individuals and organizations learn how to deal with conflict constructively. She is also certified in the DISC® Behavioral Style Assessment. She received an undergraduate degree in journalism, summa cum laude, from the University of South Florida and her J.D., cum laude, from Stetson University College of Law, where she was a member of the law review.

Visit Nora online at www.norarivabergman.com and www.atticusonline.com.

Join us on:

The 2010 Performance Poll of sitting judges in the Tenth District Court
of Appeals, Common Pleas General Division, Domestic Relations / Juvenile and Probate Courts will go online Monday, April 12, and remain available through Friday, April 23.
Click for details.

If you need a photo for the Columbus Bar Directory (or if you would like to update your current photo), please contact Esther Kash at esther@cbalaw.org
or 614/221.4112.

Save the Date:
May 4, 2010

Awards of Excellence Luncheon will take place at noon on May 4 at the Hyatt on Capitol Square.

Tickets are $30 apiece
or $240 for a table of 8.

Contact Donna at 614/340.2062 or donna@cbalaw.org
for information.

Winners are:

Award of Merit:
Robert Clyde

Community Service
37 & Over:
Douglas R. Morgan

Community Service
36 & Under:
Meredith K. Knueve

Liberty Bell Award:
Deborah J. Merritt

In addition, special awards will be presented to James A. Rutledge, Lloyd E. Fisher, Jr., and Michael P. Mahoney as long-time members and invaluable contributors to the Columbus Bar Pension Advisory Committee.

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